Upgrade to Pro
— share decks privately, control downloads, hide ads and more …
Speaker Deck
Features
Speaker Deck
PRO
Sign in
Sign up for free
Search
Search
Breaking down the Truth about Business - Conver...
Search
Rob
April 15, 2016
Business
0
140
Breaking down the Truth about Business - Converge 2016
Rob
April 15, 2016
Tweet
Share
More Decks by Rob
See All by Rob
Unified Theory of Studio Operations
robharr
0
89
Biz Dev: Do any of us know what we are doing?
robharr
0
63
Studio Operations & Forecasting: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly - NYC 2019
robharr
0
93
Running Awesome Discovery Projects
robharr
0
330
Making sure the juice is worth the squeeze - Manage Digital 2019
robharr
1
120
Rules to Live By: Growing a Healthy Team: For People Who Run Teams or Organizations - HOW Design Live 2019
robharr
0
82
PeersConf 2019: Operations and Forecasting: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
robharr
1
180
Workshop: Studio Operations & Forecasting: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly - Owner Summit 2019
robharr
0
130
Workshop: Studio Operations & Forecasting: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
robharr
0
170
Other Decks in Business
See All in Business
メルカリグループ行動規範
mercari_inc
0
580
株式会社ギークリー_採用ピッチ資料(2025年10月更新)
opportunity_loves_geek
3
3.6k
MagicPodを使い倒すメドレーの活用術 / How to utilize of MagicPod
medley
1
200
ソフトウェア開発者が「感性」を磨く時代へ〜匠Methodが導く新しいスキルの方向性 / The Era of Software Developers Cultivating “Sensitivity” ~ The New Direction in Skills Guided by the Takumi Method ~
takumi_method_ug
1
120
株式会社ステラセキュリティ会社紹介資料/sterrasec-introduction
tkmru
0
270
Understanding What We Have Wrought: Systemic Risks as told by a System Engineer
patio11
0
620
20251003-GENDA経営戦略チーム-Value-Upの全体像
geshi0820
0
2.1k
データ整備の「やり方」はどうなっていくか
shinu
PRO
2
650
THxApp project
shotaro0913
0
450
CREFIL Inc. / Company Profile
crefil
0
320
株式会社Cake.jp Company Deck
cakejpcorp
0
1.5k
at FOREST_recruit_pitch deck202510
atforest
0
290
Featured
See All Featured
JavaScript: Past, Present, and Future - NDC Porto 2020
reverentgeek
52
5.7k
Facilitating Awesome Meetings
lara
57
6.6k
Fight the Zombie Pattern Library - RWD Summit 2016
marcelosomers
234
17k
個人開発の失敗を避けるイケてる考え方 / tips for indie hackers
panda_program
116
20k
Intergalactic Javascript Robots from Outer Space
tanoku
272
27k
Gamification - CAS2011
davidbonilla
81
5.5k
How to Ace a Technical Interview
jacobian
280
24k
Fireside Chat
paigeccino
41
3.7k
Designing for Performance
lara
610
69k
The Illustrated Children's Guide to Kubernetes
chrisshort
49
51k
A Tale of Four Properties
chriscoyier
161
23k
Raft: Consensus for Rubyists
vanstee
140
7.2k
Transcript
Rob Harr BREAKING DOWN THE TRUTH ABOUT BUSINESS @robertharr
None
None
None
None
BREAKING DOWN THE TRUTH ABOUT BUSINESS GETTING STARTED
Running a business is really hard.
Starting a business. TAN GEN T!
Our Craft What we believe. Business TAN GEN T!
Our Craft The Truth. Business TAN GEN T!
Have a purpose.
Autonomy TAN GEN T!
None
You have to be intentional.
You have to be a little crazy.
None
None
There is no “One Way.”
BREAKING DOWN THE TRUTH ABOUT BUSINESS THE ZEN OF RUNNING
A SERVICE BUSINESS
This is a cash intensive business.
The employee arrangement Sarah 2080 hours a year Developer Salary
Vacation Benefits
Our Fake Team $45k $80k $100k $60k Salary $21 $38
$48 $28 Hourly Rate
TAN GEN T! People have different values in different contexts.
20% 5% 6% 11% 58% Your Budget 58% Compensation 11%
General + Admin 6% Rent 5% Advertising 20% Net Margin
20% 5% 6% 11% 58% Your Budget 58% Compensation
For most of us it comes down to staff utilization.
Slack Projects and Maintenance Agreements TAN GEN T!
There are seasons for things.
TAN GEN T! Surviving Growing Thriving
TAN GEN T! Surviving Growing Thriving
Having a plan vs planning
None
You will always have something to do.
None
It is ok to punt to future you. TAN GEN
T!
Work the right hours. TAN GEN T!
Embrace the “Office of the Presidency”
It is a marathon.
BREAKING DOWN THE TRUTH ABOUT BUSINESS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES
#1 Cashflow
Freedom is not free
6 months
Most of our costs are fairly consistent and predictable.
Plan for taxes all year long.
Separate your operating accounts from your savings account.
Micro-Cash flow
Micro-Cash flow
Micro-Cash flow
Operations
#2 Employees
I am in the talent business.
People are our biggest asset.
2 kinds of Companies: Talent Producers Talent Consumers
3 months for new Employees to become productive.
People Over Process
Why Projects Fail. TAN GEN T!
Act like you are in business for yourself. TAN GEN
T!
Embrace your staff’s super powers.
Clearly set team expectations.
#3 Finding work
12 to 18 months
Most client will not grow with you.
Sell to your existing clients. TAN GEN T!
Focus on long term relationships during your sales process.
Find something smaller to sell to bigger clients.
Pricing
Don’t steal your client’s story.
BREAKING DOWN THE TRUTH ABOUT BUSINESS DIFFICULT THINGS ARE STILL
GOING TO HAPPEN
Unexpected business tax.
Taxes.
Some of the people you hire will leave.
Negotiate pricing with Clients.
Sometimes you have to offer them something. TAN GEN T!
RFP’s
You will have off quarters.
There will be dragons.
None
WRAP IT UP BREAKING DOWN THE TRUTH ABOUT BUSINESS
There are no shortcuts.
Limited Control.
Rob’s two basic rules for happiness in business:
Life is too short to work with people you hate.
Rob’s two basic rules for happiness in business: Rule 1:
If you ever become annoyed by a client, it is
only because you’re not charging them enough money. Life is too short to work with people you hate. Rob’s two basic rules for happiness in business: Rule 1: Rule 2:
Accept the fact that you will be completely wrong about
things that you are sure you learned.
Want more? Businessology Podcast BizCraft Podcast Unmatched Style Podcasts Code
and Supply Podcasts
THANKS! @robertharr
[email protected]